On November 4, 2013, a study released by Reason Foundation found that government-owned broadband networks (GONs) do not provide the value that cities and towns hope to achieve. According to the study, which focused primarily on the Lafayette Utility Service (LUS) in Lafayette, Louisiana, plans for broadband GONs are developed using the same budgeting model […]
Private Sector Solution to Digital Literacy
As students return to school this fall, they are finding that their teachers are using technology tools, such as online curriculums and textbooks, and assigning online homework more frequently. Today, virtually all schools and libraries are connected to the Internet. However, once the school day has ended, students may find a different picture when they […]
Keeping Internet Access Free of Taxes
On November 1, 2014, the moratorium banning discriminatory taxes on the Internet and taxes on Internet access imposed by the Internet Tax Freedom Act in 1998 will expire. At the time the legislation was initially enacted, the Internet had approximately 300 million users. Since then, the number of users on the Internet has increased to nearly […]
E-Rate Program Reform To Take Center Stage at FCC
On Friday, July 19, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be meeting to discuss, among other items, reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF)’ E-Rate program, which was highlighted in the July edition of Wastewatcher. It is expected that the outcome of this meeting will be a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to […]
The Farmers Love This Bill
“The farmers love this bill, The farmers love this bill, High, HIGH, the dairies go, The farmers love this bill!” While it’s a tortured version of the original, the verse scribbled above represents a more fitting rendition of the classic nursery rhyme these days, given ongoing congressional action. Today, the Senate will markup its version (S. […]